How to deal with anxiety

How to Deal with Physical Symptoms of Anxiety

This article was co-authored by Rebecca Ward, LMFT, SEP, PCC, MA. Rebecca A. Ward, LMFT, SEP, PCC is the Founder of the Iris Institute, a San Francisco, California-based business focusing on using somatic expertise to teach individuals and groups the skills to deal with dilemmas using interventions, including her own Original Blueprint® method. Ms. Ward specializes in treating stress, anxiety, depression, and trauma. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP), and a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) accredited by the International Coach Federation (ICF). Rebecca holds an MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Marymount University and an MA in Organizational Leadership from The George Washington University.

There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

This article has been viewed 11,404 times.

When you hear the word “anxiety,” you might only think about the mental effects. However, you might also experience a number of physical symptoms when you feel anxious, including insomnia, headaches, muscle tension, rapid heart rate, and hyperventilation. If you’ve been experiencing physical symptoms from your anxiety, there are a number of steps you can take to improve your condition. Relaxation techniques can help control your heartrate and breathing when you feel anxious. Get a massage or use pain relievers to help with muscle tension and headaches. Finally, exercise regularly and practice a good diet to keep your overall health up. These strategies can help you overcome the physical symptoms of your anxiety.

24 Powerful Tips to Deal with Anxiety

Are you stuck in an anxiety loop? I’m going to teach you some practical, helpful strategies you can use right now to introduce calm into your life and effectively deal with your anxiety!

Table of Contents

Why are we never taught how to deal with anxiety and stress?

There are ways to reframe your anxiety… 24 ways in fact! Here are some science-based tips to lessen your anxiety and stress.

For this article, I gathered ideas from my friend, Michelle Poler, who is a master at conquering anxiety! She conquered 100 fears in 100 days and transformed her fear into a business!

Let’s learn how anxiety works.

Are You Anxious? (Quiz)

In a 2017 study by the University of Bristol, researchers found that people with higher levels of anxiety had a harder time reading people.

Take a look at each of these 6 facial expressions. Can you tell which subtle emotion is being expressed? All 6 of these are shown in the above graphic. Can you assign the correct image to the right face?

(1. surprise, 2. sad, 3. happy, 4. fear, 5. disgust, 6. anger)

The Anxiety Loop

According to the Global Organization for Stress, at least 60% of working adults in major global economies are stressed.

Let me tell you about a HUGE struggle of mine: After a party or dinner I would anxiously turn to my partner and ask,

“Do you think she is mad at me?”

He would look at me incredulously. “No, why?”

I thought she looked angry. “Did you see how she looked at me?” I would ask.

Turns out my anxiety causes me to see neutral faces as angry. And this is found in the research too. When we feel anxious, our emotional sensitivity increases. We pay attention to others’ emotions more, but this also leads us to interpret supportive or happy emotions as negative ones, such as anger or fear.

And this causes us even MORE anxiety! This means that anxious people are likely to be stuck in a downward-spiraling anxiety loop:

No wonder anxious people don’t know how to deal with anxiety!

But here’s the good news: the Anxiety Loop can be stopped! I recommend trying one or more of our science-backed, anxiety-beating tips below.

Let’s get a better understanding of how anxiety happens:

The CAN Hormones

The moment you begin to feel internal stress and anxiety, it means your cortisol, adrenaline, and norepinephrine (CAN) levels are pumping. Amit Sood, director of research at the Complementary and Integrative Medicine at Mayo Clinic, says these hormones in your body work to bring you even further down into a cycle of anxiety

Whether your stress is caused by environmental factors, genetics, traumatic events, or mental factors, these hormones are always in play whenever you feel anxiety or stress.

But the interesting thing is that the way we think about stress and anxiety can actually change our behaviors.

24 Coping Strategies for Anxiety and Stress

Being stressed and anxious can often make you feel weak or insignificant, so it’s important to stay positive and know that you are enough.

If you can take a step back from whatever stressful situation you’re in and recharge, you will be able to switch back to a healthy, more beneficial mindset, which allows for more productivity, creativity, and motivation to keep going.

Here are my top 24 tips on how to deal with anxiety—to relieve your stress and help you relax!

#1: Go with the black turtleneck

Remember that infamous black turtleneck Steve Jobs would always wear? There was a reason he wore it (and it’s not because of the fashion)!

Choice paralysis is real. When we are overly-concerned about making decisions, this can lead to distress, according to a recent study from Dr. Maya Rossignac-Milon and others.

And here’s the key: Not all decisions are equal! There are 2 main ways we can make a decision—the thinking way and the doing way.

The thinking way of decision-making should be reserved for life-changing decisions. But when it comes to everyday decisions such as what to eat for dinner or how to dress, science says it’s best to simply “do it” rather than linger to the point of stress.

We like to believe choices give us freedom, but actually choices can cause us stress. So I want you to…

Action step: What’s the one decision you make every day that causes you stress? Then think about how you can make a quick decision every day instead of wasting time?

#2: Use the 5-4-3-2-1 Technique

I love this grounding technique to help you destress and relax in the moment! Here’s how you can use this technique anywhere, anytime:

One of the hardest parts about feeling anxious is that you can’t be in the moment. When I am feeling anxious I am either overwhelmed with my past or projecting far into the future. This exercise is a way to be present.

The 5-4-3-2-1 technique is an anxious person’s way to meditate.

#3: Tend and befriend

Changing your reaction to stress and anxiety can take time if you’re used to regarding it as a menace in your life. While you work on accepting that stress can be a positive feeling, Stanford psychologist Kelly McGonigal recommends tending and befriending your stress.

When we’re stressed out, a common reaction is to focus on ourself, which can make our problems seem more extreme than they are.

A solution to this is to channel your stressful energy into tending to the people around you and befriending new people whom you can form mutually supportive relationships with.

Kindness is one of the fastest ways to feel calm.

Doing this boosts your oxytocin levels (the bonding hormone) and can lower your stress levels by distracting you from yourself. Furthermore, studies even show that being socially supported makes you more resilient to stress!

Next time you’re having a chaotic day, take a breather and do a random act of kindness. This can be as little as sending a hello text to an old friend or even buying a coffee for someone and asking them a deep conversation starter.

A study led by Emily Ansell of Yale University School of Medicine found that doing kind things for others, even if it’s as simple as holding a door open for a stranger or offering a couple minutes of help to a coworker, minimizes stressful emotions. And it also makes you feel like a better person!

Action step: Pick one of 62 kindness ideas and do it today. But keep in mind the next and final tip…

#4: Thank you instead of sorry

Do you say sorry one too many times?

The problem is, every time you say “sorry,” you’re subtly nudging yourself down and cutting your confidence.

If you’re an excessive sorry-giver, here’s good news: you can be your authentic self! It’s absolutely fine to not say sorry for your actions.

Instead of saying sorry, think of replacing sorry with thank you:

Action step: Track down all the times you say sorry in one day and change those sorries to thank you’s. If you really want to be creative, you can even make a “Sorry Jar” and put in a dollar every time you say sorry!

#5: Conquer your social anxiety

Social anxiety is when you feel nervous, tense, or uncomfortable in social situations because you’re worried other people are judging you. In fact, almost everyone has experienced social anxiety at some point in their lives.

Life is filled with moments of self-consciousness—from job interviews to first dates, we all occasionally feel nervous around other people. But social anxiety becomes a problem when it’s so frequent or intense that it gets in the way of important things in your life.

I recommend reading more about social anxiety or watching my video below:

#6: Talk in third person

Have you ever noticed you are nicer to your friends than yourself?

I am so hard on myself! When I read this study I realized this might be a key anxiety solution. Talking to yourself in third person can actually reduce anxiety. Research by Jason Moser and others mention that third person talk works because it creates “psychological distance” between you and the perceived threat.

In other words, third person self-talk lets you look at things more objectively instead of being consumed by stress and anxiety. You will also talk with more kindness and forgiveness to yourself, just like you were consoling a close friend!

Here are some self-talk phrases I’ve used recently during stressful situations:

Action step: Think of a recent situation that caused you stress or anxiety. Think of the negative things you told yourself and replace them with positive third person talk!

#7: Track your triggers

This thing kept happening to me where I would be going about my day and all of a sudden I felt a pang of anxiety. And then a burst. And then a wave.

Anxiety kept surprising me during the day. And I couldn’t figure out why.

I realized there had to be some triggering going on. Something must have triggered the pang, which sparked the burst, which released the wave. Right?!

So I began to track.

Tracking Anxiety: Focusing on the first signal of anxiety.

The very first moment I feel any kind of anxiety I pause and track. What did I just read? What did I just see? What did I just hear? I couldn’t believe that most of my anxiety was coming from very small things that I could control.

I realized that I could minimize my anxiety triggers before they started. So much of my anxiety came from social media pings, bad news and … texts. I now have to turn my phone on silent for most of the day. Here is what you could consider:

Action step: What triggers you? Find at least one source of anxiety or stress and release it!

#8: Snap out of your funk

Remember how we talked about the C-A-N chemicals above? Sometimes you can trigger positive chemicals to fight the negative ones. Try my 5 ways to get out of a funk

Try to boost your:

#9: Take opposite action

Do you find your anxiety leads you to self-destructive tendencies? I truly believe action is the best thing you can do for your anxiety. But if you find yourself doing the wrong things instead of helping yourself, try a technique called “opposite action.”

As the name suggests, if you feel stressed or worried or sad or upset, try doing the opposite of what you normally do:

Sometimes our brain gets stuck in patterns and we need to shake it up a bit to reset. I’ve even tried brushing my teeth with the opposite hand when I wake up on the wrong side of the bed. It doesn’t fix everything, but it definitely helps!

Action step: The next time you’re feeling in a rut, try completing an opposite action of what you’d normally do. If you’re someone who likes order in your life, you’ll soon see that there’s beauty in the chaos.

#10: Destress with anti-stress body language

As soon as you feel yourself go into a stressful mental space, put your physical space into strong body language:

A study by researchers Jessica L. Tracy and David Matsumoto found that when athletes win a race, the more expansive their body language and when athletes lose a race, the more defeated their body language. Want to look like a winner? Roll your shoulders back, firmly plant your feet, open your chest, and keep your head up. The more confident your body looks, the more confident you will be perceived as. This is called high body power—taking up space with your body.

Three kinds of power poses you can try:

Action step: Next time you’re stressed try to use your body language to put you back in control and get the right hormones pumping. You will be amazed at how different you begin to feel.

#11: Let Nature Heal You

A 2019 meta review by researchers Nancy Qwynne Lackey and others showed that 90% of relevant papers found at least one positive association between nature-based recreation and mental health, including decreases in anxiety.

In other words, spending time around trees, plants, mountains, and fresh air can really give you a boost in your mood! I try to go out for a walk at least once in the evening to unwind from a long, stressful work day.

What if you can’t take a stroll through nature? Bring nature to you!

One 2019 study by the University of Hyogo in Japan found that taking care of a small plant at their desk reduced stress in office workers. And better yet, they found that even just looking at the plant reduced their stress levels significantly!

Action step: Go for a nice stroll for at least 15 minutes. Aim at doing this at least 3 times per week! And if you can’t go out in nature, this next tip is for you. Find a great plant for your room or office.

#12: What’s your type? Cat vs. Tiger

There’s no doubt that the mind and body are connected. A new inpatient study led by Dr. David Tomasi even found that 95% of patients who participated in an exercise program reported improved mood!

If you want to know how to deal with anxiety in an active way, you should definitely try transferring your anxious energy into your body. In fact, this is one of my favorite methods to reduce anxiety: finding your preferred cat or tiger exercise.

Cat exercises are activities like yoga, stretching, meditating, and walking.

Tiger activities include running, weightlifting, boxing, and cycling.

Both cat and tiger activities are great for people who need to calm down and have trouble focusing; However, cat activities are generally more relaxing and calming, while tiger activities are great for high-energy anxious people.

Action step: Which exercises do you prefer? Find your preference and do it today!

#13: Take down the clock

Keeping track of time is an easy way to calm anxiety and take control. We allot ourselves specific time increments to complete tasks throughout the day. But if things take longer than usual, we can really become stressed out!

It’s important to accept that we cannot control time.

Action step: Pick a day to never look at a clock; just go about the day doing chores and performing routines as you see fit. But do not monitor the time! Choose parts of a day to spend with no plans. Stop thinking about time so much and you’ll see that it doesn’t matter as much as you think.

#14: Go on a digital detox

Modern technology is great, especially when you can use it to your advantage. But sometimes we use technology as a distraction. Like when we’re bored.

If you are prone to boredom, your brain actually might work differently than others. Studies led by Sammy Perone suggest that people who experience boredom more often actually have a greater chance of experiencing anxiety and depression.

If you’ve been following me, then you might know I did a digital detox earlier this year that drastically improved my focus and made me feel so much calmer in my life!

Check out my video here where I go into detail about how to go on a technology diet:

#15: Seek out scary experiences

What? Seek fear inducing experiences to reduce my fear? Yes! Sometimes we love a good horror movie to give us a little scare in the comfort of our own homes. Yes, there’s a science term for that.

Voluntary arousing negative experiences (or VANE, for short) are those scary experiences we seek out just for the fun of it. Science says that VANE experiences condition us to adapt to and better handle adverse emotions in the future, including stress and anxiety!

Here are some other examples of VANE:

Action step: Are you a scare-seeker? If you can handle it, try VANE experiences to build your anxiety resistance!

Check out how I did this with my friend Michelle Poler:

#16: Utilize the ABCDE model

Psychologist Albert Ellis came up with the ABC model to treat anxiety (later reformulated into the ABCDE model). The idea behind the model, which is also a part of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, is that our beliefs can cause anxiety, so changing our beliefs can change our emotions.

As the name suggests, there are 5 steps in the model ranging from A to E:

The more we analyze and understand our anxiety, the more in control we can become. Don’t be afraid to explore your activating events and triggers.

#17: Find your flow

If you’re too energetic to meditate, transfer your energy to find something that makes you flow!

Flow is a state of consciousness where people typically experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and a total involvement with life.

In his book, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi found that this flow state is what makes our experiences truly satisfying. This state of flow is when we feel truly “in the moment” and everything outside of us disappears. You know when you’ve been in a flow state when you look at the clock and you can’t believe how late it is!

My state of flow happens when I draft the outline of a video. I have a special whiteboard and markers I use (I think even seeing those triggers me to flow state) and then I begin to draft—I use post-it notes and arrows and script as I go. It’s amazing!

On a personal note I also think I hit flow while I cook. The moment I play my French music (love Stromae) and pop open my recipe book it just all goes. I look up and it’s 45 minutes later!

Here are some activities you can do to find your flow:

Action step: Find your one thing that makes you forget your sense of time and enter flow!

#18: Repopulate your microbiome

Did you know the health of your gut determines your stress levels? More specifically,

Reduced microbiome diversity in the gut are linked with higher levels of anxiety and stress.

So how do you know your gut health isn’t looking so good? According to Healthline, a few symptoms to look out for are:

Action step: If this sounds like you, try improving your gut health or following an anti-stress diet guide.

#19: Reframe Stress and Anxiety

Here’s what is important: Your perspective of stress is your reality.

Columbia research psychologist Alia Crum conducted research that shows that our mindsets shape our physical reality.

In the shocking study, her team told housekeepers that their work was exercise and gave them estimates of how many calories they burned per task. Within one month, they lost weight while the housekeepers who were told nothing remained in the same physical state.

When the housekeepers simply believed they were burning calories by working, they actually burned more calories similar to if they were engaging in rigorous exercise!

Your body reacts the same way to your beliefs about stress.

If you believe stress is harmful, it will be. McGonical found that people with negative perceptions of stress are more likely to experience fight-or-flight stress responses.

This includes the commonly feared reactions to stress such as feeling panicked, an inability to focus, and acting irrationally. People experience these symptoms because their bodies release large quantities of CAN hormones, making it harder for them to deal with their anxieties.

On the flip side, if you believe stress is a positive feeling, you will experience a challenge stress response. This is the type of stress response that gives you an intense desire to prove yourself, heightens your focus under pressure, and gives you the energy you need to succeed in whatever situation you are in.

People with positive beliefs about stress have these advantages because their bodies produce higher levels of DHEA– the performance-boosting stress hormone!

When handled properly, stress and anxiety can be one of your greatest assets for boosting productivity and performance in challenging situations. McGonigal explains these five benefits of stress:

Watch McGonigal’s TED Talk, “How to Make Stress Your Friend” TED Talk and read on for an eye-opening perspective on how stress affects us, and how to use it to our advantage:

Small (and random) Science-Based Anxiety Reducing Tips:

We covered the big tips above, now for some small and interesting research-backed tips that might inspire you:

#20 Draw a mandala

Studies show that “structured coloring of a reasonably complex geometric pattern,” such as a mandala, can help reduce anxiety by leading you into a meditative state.

Drawing or doodling is also a great way to get into your state of flow (see Tip # 24).

You can try creating your own mandala, finding one online, or even downloading an app for mandala coloring!

#21 Sing or listen to music

Are you one of those people who are afraid to sing out in public but an American Idol wannabe in the shower? This might actually be a great stress-reliever, as research led by Tom Shakespeare shows that singing improves people’s mental health and sense of belonging!

Not a big singer? Try loading up your favorite playlist on Spotify. Studies show that listening to music can even regulate stress and anxiety.

Action step: Find your perfect song and sing it out loud (or just listen to it)!

#22 Walk with lemurs

In a 2020 study by chartered psychologist Rachel C. Sumner, 86 participants took a walk through the UK’s largest lemur enclosure.

The result? The participants reported improved mood after their lemur walk. But you don’t have to live in the rainforest. The findings suggest that you can take advantage of this benefit by spending time with different kinds of animals, too!

Action step: Try taking an anti-stress trip to the local zoo or spending more time with animals.

#23 Take a cold shower

When you take a bath or shower, do you like your water warm or cold? If you answered anything but cold, you might be missing out on a major benefit. A study by Nikolai A Shevchuk shows cold showers help to decrease anxiety.

Cold showers are an amazing, instant “get out of funk” natural remedy.

The reason is that taking cold showers sends an overwhelming amount of electrical signals to our brain—unlike warm showers, which are calm and easy to do—which can lead to that possible anti-anxiety effect!

Action step: Don’t even think too much. Just turn on the cold shower and jump in! If you’re up for it, try a 30-day cold shower challenge!

Watch triathlete Joel Runyon’s TEDxLUC talk about how taking cold showers changed his life:

#24: Put yourself first

Trying to people please is a stressful habit. Before you know it, you’ve soon put everyone around you first and have forgotten about yourself.

I am giving you permission to put yourself first.

Only help your friend or coworker when everything you need to do is finished first. Don’t overexert yourself if someone is asking too much of you.

Make sure your mind and body are well-rested, well-fueled, and recharged. Putting your needs before someone else’s will help keep those stress levels down.

What is the Difference Between Stress and Anxiety?

Stress and anxiety often go hand-in-hand.

Stress is the feeling of worry caused by external factors, such as being late to a meeting or giving a big presentation. Stress usually goes away after the external condition is removed.

Think of stress like an alarm clock. It’s that constant signal that’s telling you, “Hey, it’s time to do something!” and if you don’t listen to it, your stress hormones ramp up, causing you even more stress!

Anxiety, on the other hand, can be triggered by stress.

What is anxiety? Anxiety is a feeling of worry caused by internal factors, and often can be characterized by a “feeling of dread” or “butterflies in the stomach.” Anxiety typically lingers around after stress is gone.

The bottom line is, if you are anxious, it’s likely that an external stressor is causing you worry. And if you have stress, it might cause you to be anxious!

Control Your Anxiety, Control Your Life

Stress and anxiety can have underlying problems. It’s important that if you need medical help, seek out a professional doctor or medical professional.

Bottom line: I want you to take action.

If you’re feeling lots of anxiety and stress in your life, it’s even more important to take action now, not later.

And remember, you are important! Hang in there, because it WILL get better.

How to Deal With Anxiety: Ways to Cope

Michelle Pugle is an expert health writer with nearly a decade of experience contributing accurate and accessible health information to authority publications.

Adjoa Smalls-Mantey, MD, DPhil, is a board-certified psychiatrist and lifestyle medicine physician. She practices emergency psychiatry in New York City at several institutions, including Columbia University Medical Center, where she is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry.

Anxiety is a feeling of tension, worry, and unease. Everyone experiences anxiety to some degree, and it’s a natural response to stress. It can help you cope with difficult situations, such as taking a test or tackling a problem at work. However, for people with an anxiety disorder, anxiety occurs often and can be overwhelming. Over 40 million adults in the United States (19.1%) have an anxiety disorder.

You can cope with anxiety caused by everyday stressors with some simple strategies on your own if you don’t have this mental disorder. However, an anxiety disorder requires treatment from a mental health professional.

What Is Anxiety?

Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or fear about an event or situation. It’s normal for people to feel anxious in response to stress. Anxiety can be beneficial when it helps prepare you to react to danger. The trick is to release these feelings before they become persistent, overwhelming, or all-consuming.

People with anxiety disorders like generalized anxiety disorder have anxiety levels that are disproportionate to the threats and affect their day-to-day functioning. Negative thoughts and physical symptoms may interfere with academic success, career achievements, and relationships.

Recognizing the Signs

Paying attention to changes in your body in response to daily stressors and stressful life events can help you recognize the signs of anxiety. Generally, if your emotions feel like they’re in overdrive and you’re dealing with tension, sleepless nights spent worrying, or panic attacks, your anxiety levels are probably problematic.

Signs of anxiety include:

These symptoms pass once the stressor that is causing anxiety is resolved, but that’s not the case for an anxiety disorder.

Ways to Deal With Anxiety

It’s crucial to recognize that what works for someone else’s anxiety may not work for yours. You can start by identifying what (or who) triggers your anxiety and what provides relief.

Coping strategies for anxiety include:

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Verywell / Nusha Ashjaee

When to Seek Help

When you realize you are not coping with your anxiety well or your anxiety is starting to interfere with your everyday functioning, you should seek help from a mental health professional. They will help you figure out whether your anxiety is caused by an anxiety disorder using criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5).

The signs of an anxiety disorder can include:

What to Expect During Treatment for Anxiety Disorder

Treatment for anxiety disorders typically includes medications and psychotherapy.

Psychotherapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one type of psychotherapy that can help people with an anxiety disorder. It teaches people different ways of thinking, behaving, and reacting to anxiety-producing and fearful objects and situations.

CBT can also help people learn and practice social skills, which is vital for treating social anxiety, where someone experiences extreme anxiety regarding social situations. It may include exposure therapy if the person is experiencing phobia-related anxiety. Exposure therapy focuses on confronting the fears underlying an anxiety disorder to help people engage in activities they have been avoiding.

Medications

Medications may help alleviate symptoms of anxiety. The most common anti-anxiety medications are called benzodiazepines. Although benzodiazepines are sometimes used as first-line treatments for generalized anxiety disorder, they have both benefits and drawbacks.

Benzodiazepines are effective for relieving anxiety and take effect more quickly than antidepressants often prescribed for anxiety, but people can build up a tolerance to them if they are taken over a long period of time, and higher and higher doses may be needed to get the same effect. Some people may even become dependent on them.

Your doctor may prescribe benzodiazepines for short periods of time and the following antidepressants:

Side effects from SSRIs can include:

You may need to try several different antidepressants before finding the one that works for you. Antidepressants can take time to work, so it’s important to give the medication a chance before reaching a conclusion about its effectiveness.

Do not stop taking antidepressants without the help of a doctor. When you and your doctor have decided it is time to stop the medication, the doctor will help you slowly and safely decrease your dose. Stopping them abruptly can cause withdrawal symptoms.

The most common black box warning (the most serious warning from the Food and Drug Administration) for anti-anxiety and depression medications is an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children, adolescents, and young adults. If you start taking a prescribed medication and have thoughts of self-harm, contact your healthcare provider immediately or go to the nearest hospital.

Summary

Anxiety is a feeling of fear, worry, and tension experienced every day. It’s usually a response to a stressful event or trigger. It’s normal to feel anxious, and you can manage this feeling by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and adopting simple strategies like journaling and practicing deep breathing exercises. However, when you feel that way all the time or your anxiety is making it difficult for you to perform daily tasks, it may be time to talk to your doctor or mental health professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you deal with anxiety without medication?

Yes, but if you have an anxiety disorder, you need treatment from a mental health professional for the best outcome. Otherwise, you can cope with anxiety by journaling about your emotions, moving your body, and practicing mindfulness and meditation. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle by eating a balanced diet and getting enough sleep can also help with anxiety.

How can you help someone dealing with anxiety?

The best way to help someone dealing with anxiety is to provide support. Listen to and help the person come up with a plan, and validate their feelings even if you don’t understand them. You can also suggest doing a calming activity together, such as a deep breathing exercise. Helping them find a support group or resources can be helpful.

How do you deal with anxiety attacks?

Anxiety attacks can be managed with lifestyle modifications, medications, psychotherapy, and support from loved ones. If you are experiencing anxiety attacks, you should consult with your primary care doctor or mental health professional immediately.

A Word From Verywell

Anxiety has become so pervasive that we tend to forget its seriousness. It can be motivating and helpful in some situations, but when you experience anxiety for a prolonged period of time, you may have an anxiety disorder and should seek help from a mental health professional.

The best approach to coping with anxiety is doing so when it’s still at manageable and healthy levels. If you’re already feeling overwhelmed or overly anxious, it’s time to talk to someone. This doesn’t mean you’ve failed at coping. It simply means you need a little extra support to keep your anxiety under control.

National Alliance on Mental Illness. Anxiety disorders.

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Anxiety at a glance.

American Psychiatric Association. What are anxiety disorders?

Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Myths and realities.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Tips to manage anxiety and stress.

Bandelow B, Michaelis S, Wedekind D. Treatment of anxiety disorders. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2017;19(2):93-107. doi:10.31887/DCNS.2017.19.2/bbandelow

National Institute of Mental Health. I’m so stressed out! fact sheet.

Jerath R, Crawford MW, Barnes VA, Harden K. Self-regulation of breathing as a primary treatment for anxiety. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2015;40(2):107-115. doi:10.1007/s10484-015-9279-8

National Institute of Mental Health. Anxiety disorders.

How to Deal With Anxiety

Understanding and Managing Anxious Thoughts

It’s normal to be anxious from time to time. Whether it’s something tangible such as waiting to go into a job interview, or an undefined fear about something unknown coming around the corner, anxious thoughts and feelings are a predictable and appropriate response.

But what if your anxiety becomes relentless or overwhelming, or doesn’t seem to have a cause? In cases like these, when anxiety no longer seems like a reasonable response, and your well-being is at risk, you need to take action.

In this article, we explore the different forms of anxiety, and how to combat them. We also look at how to stay on top of everyday anxieties, and how to cope during times when everyone feels more anxious than usual.

Click here to view a transcript of this video.

What Is Anxiety?

Anxiety is a natural reaction to stress or threat. It is a mixture of uneasy feelings, including nervousness, worry and fear, about yourself or others.

Anxiety can be caused by specific situations as they unfold, such as sending your child to school for the first time or realizing that you’re lost in an unfamiliar city.

It can also be a response to your thoughts about things that have already happened, or that are on the horizon. That’s why you might find yourself worrying whether you upset someone days ago or are feeling anxious about giving a big presentation at work that’s still weeks away.

Why Are We So Anxious?

Anxiety is a very common problem, and it’s on the rise. The World Health Organization put the number of people suffering from problematic anxiety worldwide in 2017 at more than 300 million. [1] And in 2019, an American Psychiatric Association poll found that, for the second year in a row, nearly two thirds of respondents were «extremely or somewhat anxious about health and safety for themselves and their families.» [2] Since then, the coronavirus pandemic has contributed to rising anxiety all over the world, particularly in older adults and students. [3][4]

There are many other reasons why anxiety is on the rise. These include worries about the economy or environment, and anxieties about our appearance, social standing and professional success.

Many aspects of modern life could also be to blame. Research has found a correlation between use of social media and increased anxiety, for example. [5] Another study drew a link between increased air pollution and raised anxiety. [6]

Anxiety Symptoms

Physical symptoms of anxiety include sweating, shaking, feeling sick, and being unable to sleep. The mental effects are also wide-ranging, from clouded thinking and difficulty concentrating at one extreme, to over-active imagination and hyper-alertness at the other. For some people, anxiety is also accompanied by misplaced feelings of embarrassment or shame.

Like other similar conditions, anxiety can range in intensity, from a mild sense of uneasiness, to severe, even paralyzing distress. And it can also vary in duration, from momentary to prolonged – and, in some extreme cases, constant.

Anxiety is a natural reaction to stress or threat. In fact, it’s likely a hard-wired safety response – part of the «fight or flight» instinct. When we or someone we care about is at risk, our brain prioritizes the danger and focuses its energy on beating it.

Complex thinking processes are shut down to allow us to concentrate on the danger at hand. Meanwhile, signals go out to our body to prepare for action. Our breathing quickens, our heart starts pumping faster, sending more blood to our muscles as we prepare to fight or flee. Both the mind and body adapt in order to give us the best chance of surviving until the danger passes.

However, the same responses can be triggered when there is no immediate physical danger. Just thinking about a threat, past or future, can be enough to activate intense anxiety. And this can mean that there’s also no clear end point to the threat, so all these anxious feelings can persist. In these circumstances, anxiety can evolve into something that’s problematic.

Feeling a little anxious before a big exam, for example, might focus your mind and energize you to give your best performance on the day. But if it becomes too much, it could make you feel sick, prevent you from sleeping properly, and leave you with a shaky hand and a wandering mind when the exam begins.

In more extreme cases, however, anxiety can become a recognized disorder. It’s important to understand what these are, so that you can seek the right advice and support.

Warning:

Anxiety disorders can cause severe health problems and, in extreme cases, death. If anxiety impacts any aspect of your well-being, seek professional help.

While the advice in this article may be useful for managing anxiety, you should consult your doctor before making any major changes to your diet, medication, or exercise regimen.

What Are the Six Types of Anxiety Disorders?

Here are the six most common types of anxiety disorders:

What Is the Best Way to Deal With Anxiety?

There are also various techniques for managing some of the common symptoms of anxiety. These can be helpful when you’re going through worrying times, at home or work, or facing particular challenges that make you anxious. Here are some strategies that you can try:

1. Identify Sources of Stress

Once you’ve identified specific sources of stress and anxiety, you can take steps to avoid them – or at least to manage your feelings toward them. Knowing the triggers should also help you to discuss them with others and seek support when required.

2. Lead a Healthy Lifestyle

Studies show that regular exercise can help to reduce anxiety and build your tolerance for stress. Look for opportunities to fit exercise into your day in many ways, as even small amounts of exercise can have a positive effect on anxious thoughts and feelings. [8]

You can often lessen your anxiety by reducing or avoiding certain foods and drinks. For example, consider limiting your intake of caffeine, alcohol, soda, energy drinks, and chocolate.

Watching what you eat also means eating a healthy, balanced diet, not skipping meals, and staying hydrated throughout the day.

3. Use Relaxation Techniques

You can use deep breathing exercises to control your stress and anxiety. Deep breathing is especially effective for managing short-term anxiety. If you begin to feel anxious, try taking 10 or 20 slow, deep breaths to calm down. Breathe in as deeply as you can, hold the air in your lungs for several seconds, and let each breath out slowly.

4. Think Positively

5. Get More Organized

Poor organization can be a serious source of stress and anxiety. If this is the case with you, you’ll likely benefit from learning good time-management skills.

A calm and organized working environment should also help you to feel more in control.

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How to Deal with Fear and Anxiety

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In this section we address things you can do on your own to work with fear and anxiety. We do not cover the many valuable techniques and therapies available when working with professional psychologists or other providers. These are essential for those who have experienced trauma or are suffering from intense fear or anxiety.

Avoid avoidance

The only way to deal with fear is to face it. Avoiding our fears only prevents us from moving forward—it makes us anxious. But be gentle with yourself and do only what feels safe to you! If you find yourself getting more panicky, take a break and find something pleasant or comforting to notice or do. If it feels safe later, you can try to explore your fear again, taking breaks as needed. If you find it difficult to address chronic fears or anxiety on your own, note that therapists can be invaluable in helping work through avoiding strategies. If you have experienced trauma, it is especially important to work with a therapist to create a safe environment where you can face your fear and reconstruct your memories.

If the fear or anxiety is milder, you can try mindfulness meditationLearn more about mindfulness techniques. All you need to do is sit quietly and observe the present moment. If fear or anxiety arises, recognize it. If you can, be curious. Observe the anxiety. Notice how it feels in your body. Notice any associated thoughts. See if you can observe it as it is; don’t get involved in the story, or try to get rid of it or change it. And when you need, take a break and turn your attention to something neutral, like your breath or hands in your lap. Note that anytime you feel too agitated to be curious, it may be best to stop and open your eyes and notice objects in the room, or take a little walk.

“Every time your fear is invited up, every time you recognize it and smile at it, your fear will lose some of its strength.”